Each week, Sporting News college football writer Matt Hayes will answer questions from readers in his Mail Bonding column:

Q: For years we’ve heard about how inferior the ACC is to the SEC, but it sure looked like the ACC got a little closer last year with FSU’s win over Auburn and Clemson’s win over Georgia. Do you see a day when the ACC and SEC are equal?

Sal Blackman, Richmond, Va.

Hayes: Equal is a pretty big leap — at least, at this point in the evolution of the two conferences. Much of it, believe it or not, will be based on television.

The ACC title game in Charlotte (AP Photo)

This is why Mike Slive will retire as the greatest commissioner in college history. The SEC Network, Slive’s baby, will take the strongest college conference and make it nearly untouchable because of recruiting reach and branding and marketing. And, of course, millions to its member institutions.

I would expect the game to stay in Charlotte forever; it’s where it should be. By simply keeping the game in one location — in the heart of the league’s geographic footprint — the ACC has set itself up to strengthen its brand. Slive once told me one of the smartest things SEC presidents did in the evolution of the conference was to keep the championship game in Atlanta.

Not only is it a perfect geographic fit, the game (and the city) quickly became synonymous with Championship Saturday. It was always the best game that weekend; over the last decade, it has become the best game of the year — and a de facto national semifinal much of that time.

That game has led to strength in branding, which leads to power at negotiating tables with television partners. And that’s how you build the strength of a league.